The Binding of Free Radicals
by Ajora
Summary: Free radicals are unstable and must form molecular bonds with other free radicals in order to stabilize. Ryo and Osamu will have to learn this sooner or later.
1. Part I

The Binding of Free Radicals  
Part I (Ryo-side)  
by Ajora Fravashi

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.  
Note: This is a for-fun fic for the 30kisses challenge community on LJ. As far as timeline goes, it is pre-Anode Tamer and before Osamu's death. At this point, Ryo has not yet entered the Digimon Tamers universe and won't for a long time yet.

* * *

- 1 -

Akiyama Ryo was in something of a dilemma. Not that this was unusual, especially with his family moving around as much as they did, but still. Those other schools blurred together after a while, neither impressive or important in his mind's eye. There would always be another few schools to hop through in his parents' perpetual wanderlust. But this time, something was different.

With a family that was primarily low-key and usually frowned down upon the notion of making a scene about anything, Ryo was well trained in the art of acting completely unimpressed. His mother stressed constantly that revealing too much about one's emotional state made it easier for other people to exploit it. Of course, he had also been raised to be more scared of KGB agents and spies than monsters under beds and in closets, so he took everything with a grain of salt. If there were gulags and Stalin's ghost involved, he ended up taking it all with a giant pillar of salt.

The problem with having an ex-Soviet Russian for a mother was that much of her childhood upbringing ended up being passed on to him. As such, he tended to use stratification to deal with life. Authority figures had to be obeyed but distrusted, peers regarded with caution, and strangers with suspicion. Friends, if his family ever settled down long enough for him to meet them anywhere other than the Internet, would be the only people besides family he could really trust.

Unfortunately, his mother never said anything about how one went about making friends with people who impressed him. It was usually assumed that he was entirely too busy with classwork and getting lost in the local parks to socialize with people in a school that he was bound to leave in a few months anyway. He normally didn't even bother trying, but there was one boy he noticed. Couldn't help but notice. Really, now it was just getting ludicrous. Every time he saw the boy, every thought of behaving properly fled him completely. A member of his mother's family did _not_ stare at people, even if they did have the most striking pair of blue-violet eyes in the world. More to the point, one did _not_ entertain fantasies of trying to get those eyes to look at them. And fantasies of wanting to kiss another boy? Right out of the question. In Soviet Russia, his mother said, such things were to be kept secret and not acted upon. But, as ridiculous as the notion of following the social mindset of a government that collapsed many years ago was, it was better to not act on his impulses when other people were involved. Made it easier to not come across as a complete idiot.

Not that he could manage _that_ for long.

Ryo groused under his breath as he fumbled with the IDE cables in the computer he was trying to upgrade for the computer club. Pointless, really. Why was he even trying? That boy was way out of his league. This computer was put together back in the '80's. He should just give up.

"What's wrong," asked a voice behind him. It was probably one of the members of the computer club he hadn't met yet.

Ryo straightened just enough to allow whoever it was to get a look at the more tangible and less personal of his current problems. "It's a lost cause."

"What are you trying to do with it?"

"The teacher wants an upgrade, but the kinds of upgrades she wants is too much for this kind of build." A slight grimace crossed his face. "She'd be better off getting a new computer."

"Please elaborate," the voice requested.

He shifted a bit to let the other person look at the motherboard. "See this? It's built for a specific chassis shape. The motherboard upgrade she wants would require a larger chassis. Now, what she wanted was a few more sticks of RAM, but this motherboard is too old for the amount of RAM she wants. And then, here," he paused for a moment to detach the cable connected to the hard drive, "notice the broken pins? This cable needs to be replaced too. It's a miracle the operating system still boots up. She also wants a new monitor, but to get the best resolution out of it, she needs a video card upgrade. And all her drivers are outdated so-"

The voice behind him gave a rather nice, low chuckle at that. "It's been awhile since I've met someone who knows what he's doing. You're the new kid, aren't you?"

Ryo shrugged. He was the new kid everywhere he went. "Guess so."

"Could I pry you away from the ever so fascinating ancient computer and get you to look over here," the voice asked with just a hint of amusement. "I'm rather perturbed that a dust-covered piece of junk is more interesting than me."

Rather reluctant to peel his eyes from the tangled cables he was sure he'd have sort out again later, he did as he was ordered. Watching him with the world's most striking blue-violet eyes framed by gold-rimmed glasses was Ichijouji Osamu: boy genius extraordinaire and subject of insipid adolescent fantasies. His grip on the screwdriver hovering over the motherboard loosened enough for it to fall with a clatter. He didn't pay this much attention.

A slight smile tugged at the corners of Osamu's lips. "You intrigue me. Not many people do. Want to partner up for the next big computer club project?"

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could just faintly remember his mother's voice telling him not to be too obvious, too desperate. That was promptly chased away by something else that suggested that the worst that could happen was that he'd come across as an idiot and he would be on the move again soon enough. He attempted to find something to say, but-

"You see, the teacher insists on all of us partnering up, including me. I would rather work with you than some idiot who can't tell a power adaptor from an IDE cable." Osamu regarded him with a rather owlish expression. "That is, if you don't have anyone else lined up."

"No!" The word stumbled rather alarmingly out of his mouth. He paused to gather what calm he had in the face of the boy he had a crush on before trying to make a bigger idiot of himself. "I- I'd like that. Really!"

The smile became more certain now. "Good. I'll expect you to meet me for lunch to discuss the project tomorrow. Chemistry lab on the third floor. If a teacher asks anything, say you're with me."

There was a rather warm sensation threatening to display itself on his face at the notion of being alone with Osamu. "Okay! I'll be there."

"See you then," Osamu said. He turned to leave, but at the last second he shot Ryo an unreadable look. "I don't bite, Ryo."

As the boy genius of Tamachi left the computer club room, Ryo wondered at what that was supposed to mean.

- 2 -

A single verticle line blinked up at him with a monotonous rhythm, waiting for him to type up something that wasn't completely inane. Not that Ken minded his inanity. Still, he had to do better than his last few attempts.

Why was it so hard to write an e-mail? Chat was one thing; he could just blurt out whatever he wanted and no one really minded if he was less than articulate at the time. He still remembered his last attempt at chatting on a public chatroom while drowsy with cold medication, which resulted in something completely incoherent. It was easier to ignore a kid in a chatroom than it was to ignore e-mails, which should have been reasonably written. And he was thinking entirely too much about it.

_Hey, Ken! How's life been treating you?_

He winced inwardly at that and deleted the line for what was sure to be the thousandth time that night. Ken had been his friend for a year now, he'd know better than to forget that his best friend was usually ignored in favor of his brother. Ryo never really asked about Ken's brother, believing that the last thing Ken needed was for someone else to fawn over whoever his brother was. Ken befriended him _because_ he never asked or cared. So, time to try again.

_Hey, Ken! Mind if I offload on you? If you do, I totally understand and you can delete the rest of this letter. If not, uhm..._

Okay, that was better. He took a deep breath and attempted to write the rest.

_So, you know how older people like to be around people of the opposite sex and kiss them? There's other stuff involved too, but you're smart enough to figure it out. Anyway! I, uh... You'd think I'd like girls, but then I saw this boy in my new school and I have a crush on him. Which is weird, 'cause I never liked anyone like that. Not that I don't like you! You know you're the little brother I always wanted, right? I should send this before I make myself look like more of a moron. Oh, there's this online role-playing game I've been toying with, wanna try it sometime? I think you'd be perfect as a wizard, and then I can protect you with my knight until you're strong enough to solo. Anyway, let me know!_

He signed off with one of several screen names, which at this point would be either "Water Caltrop" or "Liao," depending on his mood. There had been a time when he was going under the name of some Final Fantasy character. It had something to do with a tonberry, but he rather hoped he'd never run into someone he knew from way back then. Newbies to the internet were usually complete idiots, and he had been no exception.

The next morning, he wondered why Ken never responded.

- 3 -

Time inched along sluggishly as Ryo watched the classroom clock. The lecture bored him to death and he had long since exhausted his supply of insipid daydreams. Even factoring in a few new variables to the daydreams hadn't helped. The long, spindly hand on the clock ticked off another second. Just a few more minutes and it would be lunch time and he could run up to the chemistry lab and try not to muck up his time with Osamu too much.

Another second.

He wasn't sure why Osamu knew his name or wanted to partner with him for the computer club project. It was due before winter break and Osamu was too intelligent to need someone like him for help, despite pretty much implying that this whole thing was for show. Wouldn't Osamu be able to convince the teacher that he not only didn't need help, but that any of the other students would be a hindrance? Not that he minded. He had been watching Osamu since he moved here... which probably was a bit creepy, in retrospect. The only thing that had been in his favor was that other people watched Osamu too, and he could get away with the excuse of "curiosity." Which was true, up to a point.

Another second. Time was certainly not his ally.

Revising another daydream took off a couple of minutes. The teacher still droned on and on about the book of the month that he should have read earlier, but didn't because it was boring and old Japanese court life was way less interesting than his videogame of the moment. He sighed and let his mind wander even more-

"Mr. Akiyama!"

Ryo started at the teacher's sudden bark and looked up to see the rotund little woman glare at him.

"I assume you've covered this material in one of your other schools. For what purpose did Genji invite Murasaki to stay with him?"

He blinked blankly as he raked his mind for an appropriate response. The unpleasant smirk on the teacher's face really wasn't helping. Unfortunately, the one response that came to mind certainly was not something he could say in class without having to stay after school and clean the entire building. "Uhm... he wanted to marry her?" Well, it sounded better than "He was a creep and had a thing for nine-year- old girls."

The teacher stared for a moment, frowned slightly, then stepped away. "That will do." Her voice rose to announce lunch break for the class. Like automatons, the class rose to their feet to give a formal bow, thank the teacher for their lesson, and began gathering their lunches.

Ever so thankful that he wouldn't have to deal with that particular class again that day, Ryo grabbed his own boxed lunch and darted out of the room.

The chemistry lab was in an upper level of the building, where upperclassmen were usually stationed. Because of its specialized nature, no one class occupied it for the entire day. However, he was fairly sure that it was usually locked during lunch. How would Osamu get into it in the first place?

When Ryo actually got there, though, his question was quickly answered. One of the science teachers was practically fawning over Osamu as he explained, in as charming a manner as possible, that he wanted to conduct some private experiments and he just couldn't do that with his own classmates gawking at him. Sharp blue-violet pinned Ryo under a quick, unreadable look before returning to play the teacher like a marionette.

"My assistant is here now." Osamu, he noticed, was _very_ good at dealing with adults. "Thank you for making the lab available."

The teacher beamed at Osamu. "Anything for the boy genius of Tamachi! You do us proud, Ichijouji. Will we be expecting anything from these experiments?"

"Maybe. Perhaps you should go now," Osamu said in a tone that wasn't nearly as dismissive as it could have been, but there was just enough impatience in it to convince Ryo that it was a fairly good act.

With an noticeably enthralled glaze in his eyes, the teacher excused himself and walked away. The moment the teacher disappeared into a classroom, Osamu grimaced and stalked into the lab.

Ryo was confused. Should he follow or-

"Don't dawdle," Osamu snapped from somewhere within the lab. Then, as if something changed, his voice softened when he spoke again. "Come in and close the door behind you."

With a mix of confusion and curiosity that was entirely too common for him, Ryo stepped into the lab to get a good look around. It was like any other chemistry lab, with tables topped by some sort of black epoxy resin, Bunsen burners, and various odds and ends that were the norm in such an environment. Osamu was settling down at the lab table situated at a spot where someone outside would really have to strain to peer through the plexiglass window in the door and notice them. "Well," Osamu began, "pull up a stool and let's review."

Obediently, Ryo did as he was told. He sat across from Osamu and blithely ignored his inner critic's suggestion that situating himself to stare so openly was improper and an Akiyama did _not_ do "improper." Before he could speak, though, Osamu spared him the task of making an idiot of himself and resumed.

"Now then, I have it on good authority that the project will be to write a program that will generate workable child processes, and no zombie processes are allowed. They are evidence of bad coding."

"Shouldn't be a problem," he responded. When one of Osamu's eyebrows arched at him, he fought to keep the blood from rising to his face. "I mean, you could probably pull that off in your sleep." Osamu remained silent, making him wonder just what the hell he did. Maybe he should just return to the topic at hand. "What programming language?"

Osamu's nose wrinkled in an expression of slight disgust. "BASIC."

"Well, it's better than COBOL, right?" While he wasn't a programmer, Ryo did at least try to make an effort to understand what all the hackers online were talking about. COBOL was systematically mocked and seemed like as safe a topic to hate (or at least strongly dislike) as any. When the disgust on Osamu's face was replaced with something that looked to be amusement, he was fairly sure he did well in looking like less of a moron than he was. "Can't you petition for a more practical language? Like-" ... what was it those codemonkeys were frequently singing praises of? "-Perl? Or C?"

Osamu blinked and looked thoughtfully at him. "I suppose I could. Would it be a problem for you?"

"Not really. I mean, I'm more into hardware than coding, but I can try," Ryo said with what might have been a little too much optimism. The closest he came to playing with software was mounting hard drives, but if something more advanced made Osamu happy, he was willing to struggle along. He was used to it, anyway. The struggling, not-

"You're staring," Osamu seemed to feel the need to point out in as casual a manner as possible. "You have been doing it since you arrived at this school. Why?"

This stopped Ryo short. Wait, how did-, what the- ... Oh, hell. The flush could no longer be stopped and his face suddenly felt hot. "Er, well... uh..."

Something approaching a smirk appeared to tug at the corners of Osamu's lips. "One could come to the conclusion that you like other boys, Liao. Or is that 'Water Caltrop' now?"

Oh. Hell.

Ken never gave his brother's name. Ken said that sometimes his brother would read his e-mail, claiming to make sure no online creeps were stalking him or something. Why didn't earthquakes ever hit when you really needed them?

"You should come to our apartment for supper," Osamu said, smooth as a serpent and just as dangerous. It was just the tone of voice that left little to imagination. "Ken should be happy to meet you."

Oh hell.

* * *

Note: As a for-fun fic, this won't be updated as often as I'd like (I am still working on SN). There will be at least three themes per chapter, for a total of ten chapters. 


	2. Part II

The Binding of Free Radicals  
Part II (Osamu-side)  
by Ajora Fravashi

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.

* * *

- 4 -

A person of his considerable intellect could do anything. Osamu was as certain of this as he was of his own name. If he played his cards right, he could get away with anything that came to mind. It was probably just as well that he didn't particularly care. All that mattered to him was devouring the contents of more and more books. Physics, anatomy, astronomy, biology, chemistry. The subject didn't matter so long as his knowledge of the workings of the universe expanded. He wanted to know everything, because it was all so fascinating. The games of children never interested him nearly so much, but that didn't matter when he had a new subject to master.

Manipulating adults was a necessity, even when he preferred to keep social contact to a minimum. They provided for him what other children could not. Thus, he limited his contact to family and adults who may yet prove useful. But, despite himself, sometimes he did feel lonely for someone his age to talk to about what he learned. Someone who didn't care about his status and wasn't going to use him. He had always quashed that bit of useless wistfulness, for a genius had no need of friends.

Then fate had granted his overshadowed little brother with a friend. Osamu monitored his brother's correspondences with a critical eye. At first it was just to make sure his little brother's friend wasn't one of those disgusting stalkers he'd heard so much about, but over time it all came to amuse him. This person, "Liao," was good with computers and videogames, but not much else. Osamu suspected this person fell under the category of strategic intelligence; and his suspicions were confirmed when he watched Ken play online with this guy. "Liao," who mastered any gaming system quickly, was just as quick to abuse the system or play around with it in a manner that, to others, would be considered eccentric. Osamu, once he figured out the game they were playing, would have defined Liao's gaming eccentricities as creative.

For the first time in his life, Osamu was intrigued by a living person in his own age range. Oh, he was still smarter than this guy, but here was someone who might just be able to keep up with him. Then Liao mentioned that he had to move again, and soon enough there was a new student in a year ahead of Osamu. This new student kept staring at him, and Osamu performed his own surveillance through less obvious means. He soon found out that this boy was Akiyama Ryo, son of a Russian immigrant and a mathematician. The mother worked as a translator, the father as a number theories professor. While Osamu was suitably impressed by Akiyama Taiju's work in creative algorithms for Bernoulli numbers, that level of mathematics were still a bit beyond him. Nonetheless, the new kid fascinated him. It wasn't long before Osamu figured out that Akiyama Ryo was Liao, and the latest e-mail from Liao confirmed it.

This, of course, also brought up the interesting dilemma of physical attraction. Osamu never really thought about it before. Human sexuality, while a fascinating subject of its own, was something he never thought he'd have an opportunity to explore first-hand. All he knew was that the thought of doing _that_ with girls nauseated him, but then "Liao" mentioned liking guys too. Perturbed by his lack of education on the subject, Osamu lured his little brother away from the computer long enough to do his own research. The internet, despite the pornographic content he had to bypass once he cracked their parents' monitoring program, was quite edifying on the subject. Some things he couldn't do even if he wanted to, for both of them were too young, but others...

He would have to perform a series of experiments, and he was sure Ryo wouldn't object. That his future test subject had fallen so easily into his trap was just icing on the cake. That Ryo was fairly cute and didn't seem aware of his own intelligence helped, too. So Osamu made it clear that he knew of Ryo's attraction to him, extended the invitation, and here they were.

Ken, at least, was thrilled to finally meet his e-mail buddy in person. Their parents were relieved to know that Osamu had a friend to bring home. They talked about the same things they did online as Osamu watched on in silence. It was interesting to find that his test subject's attention switched from him to his brother the moment Ken demanded it. Osamu's eyes narrowed at this observation, but he said nothing. Part of him wanted all that attention to himself, but the other part had to admit that Ken did need a friend.

Nonetheless, he had to figure a time and place to perform his experiments, preferably where Ryo couldn't be distracted. It would be his pet project for that night.

- 5 -

The morning passed with little event. Didn't they always? There were the lectures, then his fellow students would ask questions, and he spent all that time reading ahead or contemplating some koan or puzzle he had found online. His teachers had long since stopped asking questions of him during lectures in an attempt to give the other children a chance to understand the material. It wasn't fair to them if he answered everything, a teacher had said to him once. He wondered if they thought he actually cared.

Nevertheless, the hour passed soon enough and gave him enough time to formulate a plan. He settled everything into a neatly organized outline, with allowances made for variables in the upcoming experiment, just as he followed along with the farewell bows to the departing teacher. Lunch would follow along soon enough, and he was glad to be out of there. The lunch hour was, frankly, headache-inducing. Everyone was too loud, the scraping of desk legs against the floor raked across his eardrums, and the _girls_... He sneered in disgust. The girls in his class, with only a few exceptions, spent so much of their time doing their hair or invading his personal space to get a peek at what he was having for lunch and judge the bento presentation by level of "cuteness" that he was tempted to snap and chew them out. The falsettos they affected to make themselves come across as cuter than they really were didn't help either. The boys weren't much better, and the arguments that erupted over such stupid things as cards made him wonder why he even put up with it all.

He remembered that he had a teacher wrapped around his little finger. It hadn't taken much, really. The teacher was young, inexperienced, and had a passion for chemistry. Hearing a little boy talk like an upper level student had enchanted the man, and it had only taken a few conversations on the subject to get that particular teacher to loan him use of the lab during lunch. With luck, he'd have use of the lab for as long as he wanted. It was ever so useful.

Osamu took his time to get to the lab. He had told Ryo to meet him there regularly, which was almost necessary if he wanted to be away from prying eyes for his experiments. That it was quiet and Ryo wasn't loud had been a bonus. Ryo was waiting for him with one hand tucked into a pocket and the other carrying a red bundle that must have been his lunch. Upon seeing him, the older boy's bored expression brightened considerably. Osamu wondered why he found that rather charming, when on anyone else it was just an irritant. Well, Ken was the exception, but Ken was his brother.

Ugh. Why did he have to think about things like that now? Ryo was an unwitting experimental subject made pliable to his whims by a silly crush. That was all.

There must have been a frown on his face, for Ryo took notice and the nervous half-smile disappeared. "Hey, uhm, you know... If you don't want to do this, we can reschedule for later..." Ryo's voice trailed off, leaving the unvoiced disappointment hanging in the air. It wouldn't have been apparent to most people, but-

Osamu sighed as he nudged his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "No. Sorry, it's been a bad day. Let's go inside."

When Ryo opened the door for him and waited for him to pass through before following him inside, Osamu should have been at least a little put off. But then, Ryo's body language didn't read like it was anything but a completely natural gesture. Ryo wasn't out to impress him... not with the intent of idolization, anyway.

They settled at the table that was probably going to end up being theirs for as long as they were going to be there. Ryo sat across from him, as before, and put more concentration into undoing the knot of his lunch bundle than was necessary. Osamu wasn't all that surprised to notice that the bento box didn't contain the traditional Japanese fare. As he unwrapped his own bento box, he noticed with some resignation that it was the same thing his mother had been making for the past few weeks. He took another glimpse at Ryo's box and decided that it was time to start the experiment.

"Interesting selection."

Ryo blinked at him and glanced down at the box. "Er, I guess. I'm kinda used to it, though."

"Hm. Western?"

"Russian," Ryo offered helpfully. "My mother's family is from St. Petersburg."

Osamu eyed the dumplings, fritters, and slice of home-baked dark bread with an almost calculating manner. "What does she call them?"

"'Zakuska' is the whole thing. It's not normally a full meal, but Mom thought it'd help me fit in better." Ryo shrugged, and then gestured to the browned dumplings in a manner that suggested that he didn't know the Japanese word for them. "Those are pelmeni. She changes the fillings on me on a whim, so I never know for sure what's in them. These," he said, pointing at the fritters this time, "are alad'i. The bread is just khleb."

A quick glance at his own unappetizing rice lunch reminded him that he might as well start the experiment. How far could he push Ryo? "Want to trade? I've never tried Russian before."

"Sure!" Ryo grinned at him and pushed the box across the table. "I haven't had much Japanese food myself. Mom insists on keeping touch with her cultural identity. Or something like that. I think she just does it because Dad likes it."

It unnerved Osamu how easily the older boy gave in, but he said nothing as he switched his lunch for Ryo's. While he nibbled on an apple fritter, he pondered his checklist. The experiment? How far would his subject be willing to go for him? How much can he ask before Ryo balked?

And what if the subject would never hesitate?

- 6 -

Osamu, having finished with Ryo's lunch, watched the subject with what he hoped could be read as bland disinterest. The experiment was off to a good start so far, but he wasn't sure how to proceed with it. This sort of thing needed to be taken slowly. But first...

"Ryo, would you go and get something for us to drink? I'm parched."

The subject looked up from an onigiri. "Sure. What do you want?"

"I prefer tea, but anything will do so long as there's no milk in it," he murmured from behind laced fingers. "Nothing too sweet. Don't take too long."

Ryo flashed him a quick smile. "Got it. I'll be right back."

Osamu simply nodded as the subject stepped quietly out the door. His mind wandered as he waited. He had never really had a friend. Lackeys, yes. Lackeys hung around him only when they wanted to share his fame and hoped it rubbed off on them, and they only approached him when they wanted to compare their marks to him or ask for homework advice. He tired of it a couple of years ago, and after a rather spectacular explosion never mentioned because it wasn't public, the lackeys kept quiet. He had no need for lackeys. But what does one do with a friend? Could Ryo be one, or something else? Or should he just settle on the fact that he was using Ryo and shouldn't get attached? Ryo would move away soon enough anyway, and real life friendships tend to fizzle out after that kind of thing even with the use of e-mail.

He sighed and closed his eyes. There was no easy solution. There was his want for a close friend who could keep up with him intellectually, and there was the reality that he was alone, mostly through his own designs. The chasm between these anomalies was such that he really couldn't expect to bring them together. His only real chance, now that he had effectively alienated his classmates over the years with his own arrogance, would be with Ryo. Maybe it would be better to let things proceed naturally, as they mean to go on. Keep to the experiment, but realize that he was dealing with a boy who could be more than just a subject.

The older boy returned soon enough, taking care to knock on the door before entering. Osamu didn't bother to move. It was enough to hear the aluminium can placed carefully on the tabletop; he was sure Ryo had no intention of disturbing him. For several moments he remained still, waiting for some other noise or sign of impatience from the subject, but when none were forthcoming, he opened his eyes at last.

Ryo simply watched him, though Osamu was unsure whether it was out of concern or because he was awaiting further orders. Rather than address it immediately, Osamu waited.

"Green tea, unsweetened," Ryo said, voice toned down to a whisper. It was almost as if he was talking to someone with a migraine. The gesture was almost touching, really.

He didn't bother to look at the can's label to be sure. It was enough that the subject followed orders to the letter, then came back to him as unobtrusively as possible. He was almost tempted to remain silent, but politesse was hard to shake. "Thank you."

Ryo was quick to smile, he thought, even when worried. "You're quite welcome. But," and here the smile faltered, "do you have a headache? Should I try to find some aspirin or something?"

Osamu blinked in surprise at the offer. That would mean Ryo would have to go to the nurse's office, which was often too much of a hassle to even consider. It involved running to the other side of the building, signing in, and faking a symptom to get the school nurse to even consider giving someone a pill. "No. I was just thinking."

"Oh, then I shouldn't have to worry when you do that?"

It was hard to frown at that, especially when it was said with that charming, if nervous, smile of Ryo's. "You only need to worry if you're being particularly noisy."

"So I'm safe," Ryo said. "I'm not so keen on noise either."

Harder still was it to keep a straight face when Ryo was being cute and attempting to commiserate. Osamu said nothing as he busied himself with opening the can, which popped a bit loud for his tastes, but it was over soon enough. He took a sip from it with the intent of drawing down a gulp, but paused when he realized Ryo didn't bring his own drink.

"Why don't you have something to drink," he asked, though he was beginning to suspect what the answer might be.

Ryo shrugged nonchalantly. "I used my money on that. But I took a detour at the water fountain, so it's not a big deal."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't really think," the older boy said, somewhat thoughtfully. "I mean, you wanted something and I only had enough money for that can. I'd be just fine with water, so it wasn't like I mind. Not if it means you'll be happy."

Osamu was at a loss of how to respond to that. On one hand, the lack of money was a bit short-sighted and it was his own fault for not offering some as compensation, but it was nice that Ryo did that kind of thing for him without even thinking about it. Perhaps...

He drank what he estimated to be half of the can, then set it in front of Ryo. Ryo looked at it, clearly confused.

Osamu sighed. "It's only fair. The rest is yours."

Dawning comprehension was soon followed by the start of a flush on Ryo's face. "Er, well, it was intended to be yours, but-"

"Is there a problem," he asked.

"No! No, it's not that. It's..." Ryo trailed off as the flush deepened.

Then it hit. Ryo's last letter to Ken, just before finding out Ken's real identify, mentioning the crush and kisses and-- Osamu couldn't stop himself from snickering once he realized what the hesitation was about, which soon turned into laughter the moment Ryo shot him a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. It was funny, and even though his sides were beginning to hurt from the effort of laughing so much with so little practice, it was worth it.

Aware that he was the subject of a joke, Ryo stood in the process of retreating, muttering something Osamu couldn't catch.

The laughter abruptly died as he realized Ryo was going to back out. Osamu stood in turn, reached out to grab Ryo's wrist, and pulled. The older boy turned to say something, but Osamu refused to allow him enough leeway to do so.

All things considered, it was one of the most impulsive things he'd ever done. He had been lucky that he didn't somehow miss and screw things up with clumsiness, that the sharp yank didn't end up throwing Ryo off balance and make him fall instead of bend to his height, that so many things that could have gone wrong never had a chance. The kiss that was meant to keep Ryo from abandoning him completely had been better than it had any right to be. But then, it had just been a peck on the lips, nothing deep and involved like what was usually mentioned online.

Still, it had the desired effect of throwing Ryo mentally off-balance and unlikely to run quite yet. When they parted, Osamu took note of the pleasantly dazed look on Ryo's face and mentally chalked it up as a successful side-experiment.

"I trust you won't have any problems sharing a drink with me from now on," he asked dryly as the dazed look faded. "You have to admit, it was a bit ludicrous."

Ryo still looked somewhat out of sorts. "Anything you say," he murmured, breath still shallow. "Anything at all."

"Good. Then finish that off and meet me here again tomorrow." Osamu gave a small, brief smile that was rare in its honesty. "I'd like to continue with our project."

Still utterly flabbergasted, the older boy could only nod.

Shortly afterwards, Osamu counted himself fairly lucky that Ryo snapped out of it a few minutes before the bell calling the students back to class rang. While the first part of the experiment was a success, he had no intention of being caught doing this sort of thing with anyone. Not just yet, anyway.

* * *

Note: Don't worry, I'm still working on SN. 


End file.
